Navy investigating possible crimes in Fallujah in 2004

Above: Fallujah, a city of one-quarter million at the time, was the site of the two most intense and deadliest battles of the occupation, in April and November of 2004. In all, the battles of Fallujah lasted for months and tens of thousands of homes were destroyed.

The Navy is investigating claims that Camp Pendleton Marines killed between five and 10 unarmed captives during a fierce battle in Fallujah, Iraq, in November 2004, current and former Marines told The Associated Press.

The criminal probe centers on the actions of several members of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, they told the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.

Different members of the same unit were later accused of wrongdoing in the killings of 24 civilians in Haditha in 2005.

The investigation was launched when Ryan Weemer, a former Marine corporal injured while fighting in Fallujah, applied for a job with the Secret Service, according to an online report by military author Nathaniel Helms, who interviewed Weemer last year. When asked during a polygraph test if he had ever participated in a wrongful death, Weemer described the killings of the suspected insurgents, Helms wrote.

Read the rest at the LA Times